A model teacher education program in health occupations at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, USA.

The Health Occupations Teacher Education Program at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, U.S.A. has been shown to be a viable and productive model for the preparation of health occupations teacher for both traditional and non-traditional educational settings. Since 1971 the undergraduate program has grown from twelve students to 30 students on-campus, with more than two hundred students in the extramural and part-time programs. Recruitment has been accomplished through professional association meetings, journals and personal contacts. More recently, persons have heard of the program through extramural classes and from students, graduates or University personnel who have become familiar with the program. Program development has been effected through the "capstone" concept, which allows for transfer of technical credit in one's specialty, capped by teacher education courses and concentrated courses to enhance one's expertise in the teaching role. Courses developed by the HOTEP faculty are based on perceived student needs, and were designed as both integrative and collaborative courses to be taken with other health care practitioners and teachers. Evaluation procedures have shown the health occupations teacher education program to be effective in preparing graduates for their predicted roles. The numbers of new students, kinds of health practitioners, and numbers of graduates have increased steadily. Implementation of courses into the Health Occupations Teacher Education Program curriculum has been gradual, so that the undergraduate core of courses is now considered to be nearly complete. Much curriculum planning has already been completed on the master's program, from which some students have already graduated. A doctoral program is also open to those ready for this level of preparation. More time and effort needs to be and will be expended on courses for the master's and doctoral level programs being developed. This health occupations teacher education has been a transportable model for similar programs begun at several other U.S. universities. Many requests have been received from health occupations teacher educators from other states wishing information on this program. Experience gained in this program shows that there is a need for more health occupations teachers in the State of Illinois (2). More requests are being received both at the program and individual levels. Graduates of the program have attested to the benefits of a multidisciplinary program in its effectiveness for preparation in the health care team concept. Student teaching, according to present students and graduates, is the single most effective experience in preparation for the future teaching setting. Since students are placed in a facility resembling as closely as possible the one in which they expect to be employed, there is a real identification with the school and students. The uniqueness of this program lies in its mix of students from the various health fields...